Last week Mia, Bosun Adam Browne and Chief Mate Alex Laline and I sat down in the salon of FALKEN to reflect on what's been a busy, stressful and ultimately successful first season on our newly refit Farr 65. We've truly come a long way since one year ago this time, when we were scrambling to get the boat out of the shed, sea-trialled and out of the UK. Since then, FALKEN has sailed over 16,000 nautical miles (!) with over 120 crewmembers. The four of us reflected on this past year and what stood out most to each of us, and how we feel about the future.

Paul & Sheryl Shard of Distant Shores are truly the OG YouTubers, having filmed and produced videos of their sailing adventures for over 25 years. I met up with them in person at the Annapolis Sailboat Show a few weeks ago to talk about their transition from broadcast TV to YouTube and if that's changed their process. We also talked a lot about their new boat, a go-anywhere aluminum expedition yacht built in the Netherlands, which will launch in early 2024, and what they've designed into what is their 5th boat. Follow along on Paul & Sheryl's adventures at distantshores.ca.

#413: In Jake Beattie’s words, the Race to Alaska "celebrates and illuminates life’s everyday heroes". Jake is one of those people. Aside from creating and organizing the Race to Alaska, he is also the executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center located in Port Townsend, Washington: a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect people to experiences of the sea. Through educational programs in boat construction, an annual wooden boat festival, the magazine 48º North and now a maritime academy — Jake and the center are setting a world-class example of how to translate life at sea to every day people.

#412: Ben and Jade Couturier recently completed the Northwest Passage on their Navy 44 Caprivi. They bought the boat in 2016, looking to make it their traveling home. Ben and Jade took Caprivi through an impressive rebuild while living aboard and working in the Florida Keys. In June 2022, they set sail, and have covered a lot of distance since. In May 2023, they left Antigua and aimed the bow north, quietly planning to sail to Alaska via the Northwest Passage. Emma caught up with Jade and Ben just a week after they arrived in Seward, Alaska. They're now part of a group of just under 400 boats reported to have completed this voyage.

If you’ve been around this podcast for awhile, Matt Rutherford won’t be a stranger to you. Famous for being the first person to sail solo & non-stop around the Americas, he’s now the operator/co-director of the non-profit organization, OCEAN RESEARCH PROJECT, and has his own, amazing podcast called SINGLE-HANDED SAILING. Andy met up with Matt yet again, and their conversation meanders from high-latitude sailing and crew management, to weed and psychedelics.

Mark Sinclair has sailed the seas his entire life, both professionally and as a hobby. He served for 20 years in the Royal Australian Navy, commanding three ships and navigating four, at the time when celestial was still the primary means of offshore navigation. He participated in both the 2018 and the 2022 Golden Globe Races on his Lello 34 COCONUT, and is currently racing as skipper on EXPLORER in the fully crewed Ocean Globe Race. August and Adam caught up with Captain Coconut in Southampton just days before the start of the OGR.

Andy & Mia sit down to talk about the past 5-6 years of 59º North and how it's evolved from a "lifestyle" business to an "actual" business, with investors, lots of staff and high stakes! They talk about the rollercoaster of emotions, the stress, the joys and the future (which is exciting—make sure to listen to the end!)

Evgeniy “Ev” Goussev was born in the far east of Russia, where he began sailing at the age of five, and was soon competing in a variety of classes while having a grand adventure on the sea with his father and friends. As the Soviet Union began to deteriorate and in-fighting became dangerous, his father decided to sail away, unsure if his eldest son was coming with the family. I sat down to talk with my good friend Ev about his sea-born childhood, his escape from the USSR and the journey that took him around the world to his life here on Bainbridge Island, where he continues to build a community focused on seamanship and sailing culture.

Peter Bruce is both a sailor and a writer of sailing. He most famously wrote the last four editions of the world-famous book HEAVY WEATHER SAILING having taken over from the original author Adlard Coles. A life-time of achievements on the water qualify him to write with such esteemed authority. He has represented Britain on seven occasions, won the Admirals Cup twice, finished the Fastnet Race of 1979, and skippered a blind crew to win a gold medal in the Southern Cross Series in Australia. As much an avid cruiser as he is racer, Peter has also researched and written a number of popular local cruising guides and tidal stream atlases for the South Coast of the UK.

Will Sofrin is among other things a sailor, shipwright and author of the new book ALL HANDS ON DECK. The story is a maritime adventure memoir that follows a crew of misfits hired to sail an eighteenth-century warship replica 6,000 nautical miles from New England to Hollywood where the ship would become the HMS SURPRISE for the iconic film MASTER & COMMANDER. Will was 21 years old at the time, working on yachts and somewhat directionless. In this episode, Andy interviews Will to hear more about the high seas adventure and how the book came to be.

James Frederick, aka 'James the Sailor Man' returns to the podcast four years after I first interviewed him. Back then, James was still prepping his Alberg 30 TRITEIA in LA...now, the boat is in New Zealand after James sailed her over 9,000 miles, solo, with many adventures along the way. We talked about his sudden divorce, losing his rudder mid-Pacific and of course sailing in Greenland on FALKEN.